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Areas of Research

Location: Fitzpatrick Center (CIEMAS) 1345

The Truskey Lab Group is interested in cardiovascular engineering, tissue engineering, stem cells, cell mechanics, cell-material interactions and cell adhesion. Currently we are studying the feasibility of coating stents with endothelial cells prior to in vivo implantation. Additionally, we are studying the mechanics of endothelial cells using traction forces in order to better understand the mechanics of these important cardiovascular cells.

Another area of interest is tissue-engineered skeletal muscle constructs and how they may be manipulated to behave more similarly to native human tissue. Current methods of engineering muscle constructs fall significantly short of native tissue when it comes to outputting comparable forces. We are using microRNA transfection to improve skeletal muscle formation and maturation. We are also interested in skeletal muscle oxygen consumption and metabolism in vitro and drug-induced changes in both.

The Truskey Lab is part of the Center for Biomolecular and Tissue Engineering (CBTE) at Duke. To find out more, please visit the website by clicking here.